Lawmakers' slow action on fixing this year's budget crisis could lead to popular support for the idea. But some say their full-time status isn't to blame.

"By moving to a part-time legislature that doesn't at all guarantee that the legislature functions better," Senate Minority Leader Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek) said. "It may, in fact, have the opposite results."

That's because to truly cut costs, staff would have to be cut. Richard McLellan of the Michigan Law Review Commission says the move could affect how well citizens are served.

"If you go part-time, who's going to do the work?" he said.

Many larger states have full-time legislatures but Texas and Florida are part-time. Nearby Indiana is as well.

A political expert we spoke with there says part-time legislators can be more in tune with the people. But because they have other jobs, it raises the potential for conflicts of interest -- such as voting on a bill that might affect the company a lawmaker works for.

"It's ultimately a decision for the people," McLellan said.

The idea would have to be put on the ballot because it changes the constitution, meaning it could be years before a decision is made.

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